Researchers at biotech firm Cortical Labs have programmed lab-grown human neurons on a microchip to play the 1993 video game Doom, converting game visuals into electrical signals that the cells learned to interpret in real time. The neurons navigated the interface and targeted enemies, positioning the system as a prototype for what scientists describe as the “world’s first code deployable biological computer.” The work is framed as a major step toward programmable biology that could eventually support biological processors for robotic limbs and hybrid computing systems.
In space science, scientists at UT Austin and Texas A&M have successfully grown and harvested chickpeas in simulated lunar soil, overcoming the lack of organic matter and presence of toxic heavy metals that make Moon dirt hostile to life. The team found that mixtures of up to 75% lunar soil could yield a harvestable crop, marking a first for space agriculture and a potential building block for long-duration Artemis missions. NASA’s planetary defense efforts also recorded a milestone after follow-up analysis of the DART mission, which in 2022 shortened asteroid Dimorphos’s orbit by 32 minutes. New research confirms DART also nudged the asteroid pair’s trajectory around the sun, with the tiny shift doubling the overall deflection effect and strengthening evidence that a killer asteroid could be redirected before reaching Earth.
Aerospace startup Hermeus has advanced hypersonic ambitions with a successful flight of its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 prototype drone, the first step in a campaign that begins with subsonic testing before moving toward supersonic flight and an eventual Darkhorse reusable hypersonic aircraft for defense missions. Consumer tech highlights include the Formovie Theater Premium TV projector with a screen size of almost 150 inches, Kamingo’s compact converter that turns a regular bike into an e-bike in less than 10 seconds, the Autonomous Stand device that tracks and rewards standing desk use, and the Hyperice Normatec Elite Hips compression system for recovery. On the medical front, MIT engineers report tiny clusters of liver cells embedded in hydrogel microspheres that stayed viable in mice for two months while mimicking liver function, a potential bridge or alternative to transplants. A UAE-developed energy dissipation device absorbed 14% of vibration energy in lab trials by using friction between branch-like rods and ball bearings to protect buildings from earthquakes, while Swedish researchers designed a cell-free cartilage scaffold that preserved growth signals to regrow bone in animals with minimal immune response, setting the stage for human clinical trials.
